Now you can touch what you can see in virtual reality

A UK company called Ultrahaptics has developed a method of providing haptic feedback for holographic imagery by using ultrasonic technology.

Originally developed in the research labs at the University of Bristol, the developers of the system can deliver different haptic feedback and virtually tactile shapes through ultrasonic waves by pulsing the feedback of the ultrasonic waves or changing their modulation frequency.

The change in pressure that creates the virtual shapes and force sensations is termed “acoustic radiation pressure.”

To better wrap your head around the concept, think of the fictional mid-air interface show in Minority Report, a type of system promised by real world companies such as Leap Motion, that allow you to manipulate computer data with gestures in the air. Now add texture and force feedback to such a mid-air interface and you begin to understand the possibilities of Ultrahaptics’ system.

“We’ve been working on this for over four years,” Tom Carter, the CTO of Ultrahaptics and a member of the team that developed the technology, told Mashable. “The goal of the company isn’t to launch its own product, we want this tech to become embedded in lots of different products, from clocks, to home appliances to cars. To do that, we needed to engage OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]as a company.”